Tip leads to armed robbery arrest

Thanks to a Crimestoppers tip, a Brooksville teen suspected of robbing a Columbus convenience store is behind bars.

Quincy Lashawn Holmes, 18, of 212 Highway 45 South, was arrested Thursday evening after a woman saw the teen in a vehicle on Highway 182 in Columbus and called Crimestoppers.

Crimestoppers co-coordinator Chad Bell said thanks to the tip, officers with the Columbus Police Department were able to apprehend Holmes without incident. He was charged with felony armed robbery and was booked in the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center just before 9 p.m.

Holmes is accused of robbing the M & M convenience store on Bell Avenue Tuesday evening. Authorities say the teen first went into the store to attempt to buy beer but was refused because he is under 21. The teen then allegedly returned to the store with a gun and bandanna over his face and demanded money. The suspect then took money from the cash register and ransacked a cigarette case before fleeing the scene. The incident was caught on the store's video surveillance system.

Holmes was also arrested March 23 for felony grand larceny. He was released from the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center on a $5,000 bond March 26. Now, less than two weeks later, he is back in the custody of LCADC awaiting bond.

Bell said the woman who called in the tip will be compensated with a cash award.

Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.